We’ve been hard at work interviewing candidates to see where they stand on the issues that matter the most to you. Below you will find a map of Toronto’s council wards, and links to each ward where you can read responses from the candidates vying for your vote. Click your ward on the map, or select your ward from the list below.

We don’t hear enough about the various TDSB races happening across the City. With this Voting Guide, we hope to shine a light on where TDSB trustee candidates stand on important issues. Click your ward on the map, or select your ward from the list below.

If you aren’t sure what your TDSB ward is, you can see which ward corresponds to your municipal ward here.

We don’t hear enough about the various TCDSB races happening across the City. With this Voting Guide, we hope to shine a light on where TCDSB trustee candidates stand on important issues. Click your ward on the map, or select your ward from the list below.

If you aren’t sure what your TCDSB ward is, you can see which ward corresponds to your municipal ward here.

Chin Lee is looking for his third straight win in Ward 41. He is up against more opponents than in the 2010 race. Unfortunately, Lee did not provide his views to be included in our Voting Guide. The candidates that did offer their views seem to have different ideas from the incumbent. The responses are worth a read if you are a Ward 41 resident looking for something different.

Mayor Rob Ford's ideas to find savings. I agree with everything mentioned: find corporate sponsorship for the Pan Am Games celebrations, eliminate city council's general expense fund, eliminate city council's general travel budget, reduce council's staff salary budgets, eliminate plans for a Pan Am Park splash pad at Exhibition Place, increase the ratio of employees to managers at Toronto Employment and Social Services, eliminate two new full-time heritage positions in Planning department, obtain efficiencies from 311 Toronto, cracking down on absenteeism and increasing the number of calls taken per day. I also suggest we lower the salaries for Toronto City Councillors.

Lai, Cynthia

Will have to work with other councillors and staff to determine over the next 4 years.

"The transit planning process should be left to the experts however Toronto Council should also have some say too. I also agree with Rob Ford when he said we should not sell the machine which is used to dig the subway tunnels since we can use it for future subway projects and if we did sell it we would receive much less than what we paid for it."

Lai, Cynthia

Work with federal and provincial governments on funding. Examine and explore dedicated revenue for transit.

The best negotiated settlements occur when both sides are willing to give in a little. Many workers would also prefer to increase their hours instead of lowering their salaries. This would lower the overall expenses instead of just increasing their salaries and keeping their working hours the same.

Yes. Partnering with a GPS manufacturer which builds GPS systems with live traffic capabilities. These systems can then be installed in city owned vehicles to lower travel time making workers more efficient and also lowering vehicle exhaust. Partnering with grocery stores, restaurants, and coffee shops and encouraging them to donate any unused food to shelters, to people in Toronto Community Housing, or to any number of other worthy establishments instead of just throwing out their unused food.

Residents want the Ford agenda to continue. In order to address this issue I have already committed to supporting Doug Ford as my number 1 priority and I have officially endorsed Doug Ford on my campaign website (http://www.ImVotingForDougFord.ca) to be our next Mayor."

Lai, Cynthia

Affordable and fair taxes; Jobs; Extension of the Sheppard subway into Scarborough. The unfair Toronto Land Transfer Tax should be reduced and ultimately phased out. Instead of debating public transit for Sheppard forever, we need to confirm a plan that Scarborough residents want and get on with it even building one station at a time.

Yes I do support reducing the total number of City Councillors. It should be reduced from 44 to 22. I believe this will improve how Council operates. For several years now Council has wasted too much time attacking each other instead of working with each other.

4. Will you support contracting out garbage collection east of Yonge Street?

Yes. Absolutely I would support contracting out garbage east of Yonge Street. Taxpayers would also receive a better deal if we look into lowering the salaries of city workers many of whom get paid a very high salary.

5. What are your thoughts on the Municipal Land Transfer Tax – will you support reducing it or eliminating it?

The Municipal Land Transfer Tax should be phased out until it is completely abolished.

6. Toronto’s unemployment rate is much higher than the provincial rate. What are your ideas to create job growth in Toronto?

In order to create job growth in Toronto we could do the following:

Make sure we keep our taxes low in order to attract more businesses into the city.

We also need to expand our subway system. Businesses prefer setting up shop when they’re close to a subway station.

7. It seems City Council has been debating public transit forever with little results to show. How would you fund new transit projects to ease congestion for everyone? Do you feel we need to change the current transit planning process?

One idea to reduce congestion is to have cars equipped with GPS systems that have traffic capabilities. I own a TomTom Go 1535 Live. This model has been discontinued but the service still works and there are similar systems still being sold. I purchased this GPS specifically because of the traffic capabilities. It receives traffic data through a built-in sim card and it automatically calculates the fastest route to your destination using live traffic information which costs $60 / year for unlimited service. It covers highways and it even covers main roads as well. If all cars had a similar service then our traffic problem could be reduced. I will work with all levels of government to try and get all cars to use a similar system since the technology already exists and is currently being used throughout the world. The transit planning process should be left to the experts however Toronto Council should also have some say too. I also agree with Rob Ford when he said we should not sell the machine which is used to dig the subway tunnels since we can use it for future subway projects and if we did sell it we would receive much less than what we paid for it. This would help save us money which we can put to use in funding future subway projects.

8. Labour negotiations will be a big part of the next council term. What advice do you have for the city’s negotiating team to get the best deal for taxpayers?

The best negotiated settlements occur when both sides are willing to give in a little. Many workers would also prefer to increase their hours instead of lowering their salaries. This would lower the overall expenses instead of just increasing their salaries and keeping their working hours the same.

9. Do you see opportunities for public-private partnerships (P3s) involving the City of Toronto? Where, specifically?

There are many opportunities for public-private partnerships such as:

Partnering with a GPS manufacturer which builds GPS systems with live traffic capabilities. These systems can then be installed in city owned vehicles to lower travel time making workers more efficient and also lowering vehicle exhaust.

Partnering with grocery stores, restaurants, and coffee shops and encouraging them to donate any unused food to shelters, to people in Toronto Community Housing, or to any number of other worthy establishments instead of just throwing out their unused food.

10. What is the top issue of concern for residents in your ward? What will you do as Councillor to address the issue?

1. Do you support a property tax cap ensuring future hikes are no greater than the rate of inflation?

Yes. Increases should be minimized and it’s reasonable to expect them to be kept to the rate of inflation.

2. Where, specifically, do you advocate finding savings in the current city budget?

Will have to work with other councillors and staff to determine over the next 4 years.

3. Do you support reducing the size of Toronto City Council?

That could help shorten the length of time it takes to debate and decide on issues.

4. Will you support contracting out garbage collection east of Yonge Street?

All opportunities to deliver high quality services in the most efficient way possible should be considered.

5. What are your thoughts on the Municipal Land Transfer Tax – will you support reducing it or eliminating it?

Yes. Start with reduction and ultimately eliminate by phasing out.

6. Toronto’s unemployment rate is much higher than the provincial rate. What are your ideas to create job growth in Toronto?

Support business growth, encourage home ownership and the resulting economic growth will help unemployment.

7. It seems City Council has been debating public transit forever with little results to show. How would you fund new transit projects to ease congestion for everyone? Do you feel we need to change the current transit planning process?

Work with federal and provincial governments on funding. Examine and explore dedicated revenue for transit.

8. Labour negotiations will be a big part of the next council term. What advice do you have for the city’s negotiating team to get the best deal for taxpayers?

Keep a lid on growth in costs.

9. Do you see opportunities for public-private partnerships (P3s) involving the City of Toronto? Where, specifically?

Yes. We’ll need to explore over the next 4 years.

10. What is the top issue of concern for residents in your ward? What will you do as Councillor to address the issue?

Affordable and fair taxes; Jobs; Extension of the Sheppard subway into Scarborough. The unfair Toronto Land Transfer Tax should be reduced and ultimately phased out. Instead of debating public transit for Sheppard forever, we need to confirm a plan that Scarborough residents want and get on with it even building one station at a time. Yes, the initial costs will be higher but new subways have far lower operating, maintenance and storage costs and will pay for themselves over the long term. It is also crucial for job creation and economic growth. We need to work with the Federal and Provincial Governments for funding, and explore dedicated revenues to make it happen.

The Incumbent:

Nancy Crawford

The Race

All candidates want to look for savings, with some providing more specifics than others. Mr. Nutter stands out with a 3-point plan to address failures in special education that was perhaps the best answer to this question from candidates in all TCDSB ward races. Be sure to read the full survey responses in this ward for some great ideas!

The full responses

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

With tight budgets these days, I support private investment with the cost of organized sports, subject of course to strict limitations, For example, private investment may invest in TCDSB organized sports programs, but limited only to “naming rights” and/or sponsorships, among others teams, events and/or facilities.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

As already mentioned in my response to item #1, budget challenges in the TCDSB may be remedied, among others, by sponsorship programs and pro-rated austere measures on budgeted items.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

In any organization, involvement by stakeholders needs serious campaign by the board. In the school environment, the TCDSB Board must effect ways and means within which to make the stakeholders understand the importance of their involvement and participation. For example, as a communicator, I can lead a communication campaign to instill in the hearts and minds of parents and students that whatever we, as a community, do at the moment will impact our future. It is a said that the youth is our future, I say this having observed from several of my participation in workshops of CSAC (Catholic School Advisory Council) that most parents leave the education and school activities of their children to teachers (the parents being, or prefer to engage more in making a living). Parents, as the first educators of every child, must therefore continue to be involved in their children’s education.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

No, I don’t support this proposal; and the reason is that, the current system of apportionment of the public’s tax dollars between the public and Catholic school systems in the province, is in itself a tax dedicated for education. I am certain that the next four-year term of those who will be elected in the October 27, 2014 will reveal a lot more during deliberation on various matters. Depending on the exigencies of the times in the next term, if at all, I would support only an increase in the tax dollar rate going to Catholic education within city of my territorial jurisdiction.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

An independently-minded advocate is always necessary for a fair assessment and adjudication of any conflict affecting two, or three parties in a case, or situation. I would support such an initiative, subject to limitation to the stages of appeal that a losing party may have in a case, such as those affecting questions of fact and/or law.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewelry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

People learn from their own mistakes, as well as those committed by others, serving them lessons to reckon with in the future. I believe that the culture has changed. While needless to cite here, the situation described in the question resulted from the wrong people having been elected to the TCDSB Board, hence, this early, Catholic education ratepayers must keep sharp eyes on who they elect to their TCDSB system. They must see to it t hat candidates who have good values must be elected.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

During the initial days after I filed my nomination as Trustee for the TCDSB, my attention was drawn into this matter by a parent who has dedicated her life, even resigning from work — and totally abdicated her banking career, her child needing attention, thus, requiring special education. To a certain degree, she has succeeded to include special education among the thrusts that the public school system must pay attention to. Meanwhile, on Friday, August 29, 2014, an advocate of special education phoned me to discuss, among other things, the need for closer attention on special education. At the same time, this advocate – who holds a Ph. D. and specializes in this specific field and diversity, offered his expertise to me on the subject by way of an Adviser. I will utilize his expertise, as well as the mother, whom I cited earlier on, as well interest groups on special education, in tackling this issue at hand.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

Reduction in the cost of administration and governance in any organization needs detailed examination of the expenditures. The same is true when applied to the TCDSB. I am certain that as I look into figures after my hopeful and prayerful election to the office that I seek for, much will be revealed to me. I do not want to say anything here and pointing at specifics in the absence of date before me at the moment. However, this questionnaire – in number 6 on top, already mentioned the luxuries described by some Trustee; and such is one area where it will definitely reduce administrative and governance costs.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

In any bargaining, a diplomatic approach is always the best course, explaining and communicating very well with the union the rationality of its demands as against budget vs. allocations, revenue vs. expense and everything. Hostility will not do any party any good for it will only result to disruptions in services – foremost the education of our young children.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

I will support such initiative, why not? For me, there is no item in such bill of rights more important than the other, or others. We must take note, however, that the Bill of Rights for parents and students will only be an adjunct to those already enshrined in the Bill of Rights under the fundamental law of the land – the Constitution Act, 1982. The Bill of Rights, as outlined in the Constitution Act of 1982, encompasses all civil rights in quasi-judicial (administrative, such as those before the TCDSB) and judicial (civil and criminal courts) of Canada, thus, any bill of rights in other documents is already embraced in such. All that is necessary is the interpretation to the legal provision. For purposes, however, of specific application to the needs of parents and students, there is no harm in duplicating the same, subject to the exception that no provision of the bill of rights being developed by TCDSB runs counter to those provided in the fundamental law.

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

My priority is to protect Catholic schools and Catholic education. I will work to ensure that Catholics schools provide an education that will nurture our Christian Catholic faith, reflect our Catholic teachings while supporting academic achievement of our children and youth. I have nothing against private investments at the TCDSB as long as these organizations’ intent is consistent with the vision, mission and objectives of TCDSB and does NOT compromise it.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

Public education is a Right. It is the government’s responsibility to support public education. I will support cost efficiency measures that will not compromise the quality of education of children and youth. I will support asking additional support from all levels of government from more funding for special education, daycare services, enhancement programs to youth and family support services.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

Foster engagement through transparency, engagement, accessibility and visibility. As trustee, I will be more accessible and visible to my constituents; to be more open and accountable; to explore all possible and acceptable venues of communication (email, text, calls, and online social media) within the resources provided; and, to provide for more opportunities for parental engagement and maximizing funds offered by the Board and the all levels of government. Work with the Board of Trustees, the City and the Province to overhaul existing parent engagement programs to implement a better way to reach out parents and the community.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

Personally, I do not support creating new taxes or adding more taxes to the common citizens of Toronto. I believe that public education is a right and if education of our children is a priority of the government, the government will make it possible to allocate more resources for education. My priority is to ensure that Catholics schools provide an education that will nurture our Christian Catholic faith, reflect our Catholic teachings while supporting academic achievementof our children and youth. Good quality education for our children must be the top priority of the government and it should reflect this in the budget allocations.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

I support having an independent and impartial body to help in conflict resolution. I have to be certain that this is for the maximum and optimal benefit of the children and youth; that no other more important priority is compromised; that this is not a Band-Aid solution to a multitude of primary issues; or a pretext to provide an image of accountability and responsiveness for the Board of Trustees. An ombudsman’s office requires resource. Is this resource more importantly spent on another priority like transportation, repair and maintenance or special education?

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewelry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

It seems that a change has happened in how finances were managed after a two year provincial supervision in 2008. I am not sure about the culture. It takes time to determine if the change happened within the organization. Also is the balancing of the budget serving the constituency better or was it balanced for the sake of a balanced budget?”

The parents’ and the community’s strong involvement in the affairs of the TCDSB would be an effective monitoring mechanism – a check and balance. It will foster accountability and build trust. It is important to engage and empower parents through information, communication and consultation.

Trustees are elected by the people. A trustee should be the role model of the community and act with the highest integrity and professionalism.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

Bring all stakeholders to review the current special education program; understand what is working and what is not working; identify the problem(s); and, agree on how best it is will be implemented. I know we can never satisfy 100% all the stakeholders all the time. Special education and special needs are important issues that need attention. The measure of a good organization is reflected on how it takes care of their most vulnerable persons and groups in theorganization. There is a saying from my culture, “We are in this together, and no one left behind”.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

Find efficiency in the line items of the budget and on business processes and procedures. Budget variances should be properly explained and assessed based on actual results. Advocate for responsible spending and timely reporting of expenses. Engage the parents and community on how to best support TCDSB in these matters.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

Collective bargaining is already in place. I value everyone’s contribution in our work to making Catholic education responsive to the needs of the children, youth and the community. I believe that most of the community stakeholders share in the value of Catholic education for our children and youth and I pray that we will come to a common agreement to make it happen.

A comprehensive plan and program should be developed to achieve balance acceptable to all parties concerned. Keep the lines of communication open to pave way for a meaningful and positive negotiation results.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

I support the initiative. In addition to the Bill of Rights in our constitution, I believe that parents must have access to information and access to principals, trustees and teachers, at all levels; that parents must be informed on matters relevant to their children’s education; that parents are the first educators of their children and a such must be consulted; and that parents are partners in growing and strengthening the Christian Catholic values of their children. Children have the right to a high quality of Catholic education; to have a safe, secure and healthy learning environment; to have adequate resources and tools to succeed; to have access to after-school services and programs that will complement the formation of their faith and learn about their Catholic teachings and other academic support.

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

I support partnerships with appropriate external organizations. The TCDSB partnership office is continually looking for suitable opportunities. I want our students to have the best possible educational experience for their own growth and the betterment of our communities. Budget dollars are always limited so partnering with external companies encourages these companies to support the development of their future employees and fortify the future society in Ontario.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

Public funds always need to be carefully managed. The TCDSB CFO and the financial services staff along with the Board of Trustees continually look for opportunities to reduce expenses through partnering with other School Boards to make bulk purchases, through consolidating programs where possible and through active review of how we spend the money. I am Vice Chair this year of the Budget committee and we have worked diligently to do this review.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

Engaging our community members is an essential aspect of good governance. I worked initially with two other Trustees and then all Trustees and staff to develop a community engagement policy that respected every person’s contribution and the School Board’s need to hear from our ratepayers. In school communities, I am present as often as possible and work hard to ensure that they have the tools and resources that they need to succeed.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

Education and Health Care are Ontario’s two greatest budget allocations. I am open to consider alternatives.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

I have supported this initiative in my recent voting. The Ontario government has expanded the scope of the Ontario ombudsman to include education. It may be prudent for the TCDSB to review the decision to budget for an ombudsman given this new development. What is of great importance is that all stakeholder concerns be heard and responded to and resolved as positively as possible in a fair and equitable manner.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewelry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

Yes, the financial culture among TCDSB Trustees is now one of fiscal responsibility and accountability.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

The TCDSB spends more than 19 million on our Special Needs budget than we are given by the Ministry of Education. We provide our special needs students with the best education and supports that we possibly can. We continue to advocate to the Ministry for a review of Special Needs allocations for all Boards.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

The administration allocation has already been reduced by the Ministry. The Trustees reduced the Trustee expenses budget last June.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

A positive one. The TCDSB will be working with the other Catholic Boards in Ontario through the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association, our bargaining agent, to negotiate respectful and just agreements with our partner associations and unions.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

Yes, I support this bill of rights. Parents are the first educators of their children, they have a right to be an equal partner with the school and the Parish Church in the education of their children. Children have a right to a safe and encouraging learning environment with leading edge educational practices and excellent teachers. Children are full participants in their own learning and development.

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Yes but I need to have more discussion on the details on the type of investment.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

I will fight for more grants from the government to the catholic school to the challenges that TCDSB faces

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

I will have an open dialogue with the school communities and ratepayers.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

I will not support the bill if it will cause additional burden on the taxpayer.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

Yes I will support the TCDSB for an ombudsman.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewelry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

My vision is to save unnecessary expenditure by the TCDSB Trustees. I will initiate for a ceiling on the expenditure incurred by Trustees and bring about greater accountability to the school system.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

I will bring about a community participation system through a Parent Teacher’s Association.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

I will analyze all expenses made by the TCDSB administration and eliminate unnecessary expenses.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

I will advocate the creation of Parent teachers Association to discuss the upcoming contract negotiations to arrive at a solution to settle their demands.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

I will champion for the creation of parent/student bill of rights. I will also fight for the children with special needs by ensuring they receive the resources they need to succeed for their education

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Co-curricular activities are an important element that adds to the richness of the school experience for all students. Any organization that is willing to provide fiduciary support to schools should be welcome as long as their motives do not clash with or compromise the values of the school.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

There are two major steps I would take to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces. Firstly, I would look at the non-education revenue to determine where inefficiencies can be found and eliminated. Secondly, I would maximize external grant and partnership opportunities, while also ensuring that programs and department activities are evaluated not on philosophical lines or by repeating what we have always done, but instead by determining what drives value and ultimately has the most impact.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

It is 2014 and we now have technology that makes it easy for anyone in the public to engage in the important discourse of education. I plan to use social media as well as other traditional means of communication to keep all ratepayers involved. It is also important to communicate in the predominant languages of the schools and to list ways, small and large, that ratepayers can become actively involved in their school communities.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

In short, no, I don’t believe that we need a special tax for education because the current funding model that is in place is sufficient. Our main priority should be to ensure that we spend those dollars in a responsible manner. Being responsible with taxpayer’s money also means that we must explore every possible funding resource that is currently available to us. For example, since Toronto is a growing city, the TCDSB is entitled to Education Development Charges (EDCs). EDCs are a funding model that provide grants to eligible school boards to cover the costs of constructing and furnishing new schools but these are limited to land purchases only. Through a change in legislation, we could expand the current EDC guidelines to be used for capital projects as well, which would make a significant contribution to ensuring that we have adequate and up-to-date facilities, thus eliminating the need for a special tax

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

Yes! One of my campaign promises is to support this initiative. I believe that ratepayers deserve transparency and access to an impartial, objective and independent third party in the form of an ombudsman.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewelry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

A lot has happened since the 2008 forensic audit that revealed trustee misspending at the TCDSB. Today however, I would argue that the TCDSB is now one of the most transparent boards in Ontario with respect to trustee expenses. I will continue the trend of posting all of my expenses online as well as regular disclosure to constituents. This shift in transparency and culture needs to be extended throughout the entire organization, especially with respect to tax dollars as a whole.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

I have a three point plan to address the failures in special education. They include:

Early identification and intervention for struggling students.

Increased access to assistive technology.

Centralise, better coordination and communication amongst support staff, as the current fragmented system is only exacerbating the problem.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

When looking at the question of how to reduce the cost of administration and governance at the TCDSB, I would encourage the board to look into shared back-office space with the City of Toronto or to create a sharing partnership with other boards. I would also advocate for shared purchasing and projects as the boards are already doing – these shared projects can relate to anything from IT to payroll.

Further to that point, I wholeheartedly believe that audits should periodically be used to ensure value for money and operational efficiency.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

The government of Ontario has taken over much of the contract negotiations, however I believe that the TCDSB has a responsibility to emphasize in all of its negotiations with teachers, that children are the most important consideration when decisions need to be made.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

Not only will I enthusiastically support such an important initiative, I would like to be directly involved in its creation. Such a bill of rights has the potential to provide a common framework and reference point that will clearly define school culture.

The full responses

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Sports is an important aspect of student development and my eldest daughter was able to take part in the swim team in high school and my youngest took part in all sports in primary school as well as in a representative team for football (soccer). I have seen the benefit of private investment in allowing kids that need a head start to get involved in sports. My youngest daughter has worked with the kick start program and her representative football team were the girls in the Canadian Tyre advertisement to encourage donations to the program.

By supporting kids to get involved in sports regardless of their circumstances it will help them academically as well as develop their self-esteem and motivation. I would support the continued involvement and encouragement by private investment.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

The Toronto catholic district school board offers students an opportunity to provide one of the best educations in the world. I have had two kids complete their education through the last 16 years and they have both entered university.

One of the key aspects in terms of meeting the challenge of the budget is ensuring that we make the best use of the facilities and locations that we have available to us. A key aspect to this is ensuring that we maximize enrolment in our school and then meet our funding maximum potential.

We also need to see where we have differences between what we spend and how much we get in terms of funding to ensure that we align our resources to the funding. Where we have major differences between our funding and costs we have two options one is to look as how we can reduce costs in terms of areas of challenges such as transportation. We also need to look at ways to get the province and other funding partners to enhance their funding were we see the need to provide support for those in need to support, such as special education.

We also need to look to get essential repairs completed and look to raise funds by using the space available for purposes that line up with our goals such as supporting organized sport. We need to look at ways to use the space we have available, support the neighbourhood as well as get engagement of the local community. We need to consider opportunities for use of the green space throughout the year and encourage the development of multi-use structures on our properties.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

Community engagement both from a school community perspective as well as those around the schools is a key element to helping the school develop and reach their best potential. It is important to provide an on-going dialog and communication to those that use the school facilities as well as rate payers as a whole. We need to look at programs and value we can add to the community as a whole as the Toronto Catholic School Board is to provide value to all the catholic supporters in the area.

I have had the opportunity over the last year to take part in the consultation where opportunities were made to allow parents to provide input to the strategic priorities for the board. These meeting are key ways to get engagement of the whole community that supports catholic education and should be expanded to all ratepayers and supporters.

A continued outreach both in person as well as electronically is required to reach out and get feedback from the maximum number of people. We need to consider all people with an interest in the schools and area.

We need to consider opportunities for the school to get support from local private partnerships as well as provide opportunities for the school to give back to the communities that they reside in. The kids in our schools what to help their community and find opportunities to give back and get engaged.

We should encourage our high school kids as well as our primary school reaching out to the community and finding opportunities to help locally. We could run events at our school to promote engagement of the community and encourage the use of our facilities for outside events.

I would provide a regular update on progress on key activities as well as ensure that they can be accessed electronically and in formats that would be relevant for all rate payers in Toronto. I would look to engage all the churches and schools in getting engagement from our community.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

I would not be supportive of an additional tax for education. In some cases we have situation that parents are providing additional support for their kids to allow them to take part in more enriched activities. I think it is important to allow access for all students to opportunities that are available regardless of their income and background. In our schools we had activities that were funded by parents, however we ensured that all students could take part in all the activities by providing some subsidies to those that could not afford it.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

I have seen the importance of ombudsman in other areas and would support this. It is in line with the need for transparency and openness in the

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

We need to have a fresh perspective on the board. It is good to see that a number of new candidates have put themselves forward. It is important to provide clear guidance and oversight of the trustees

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

Special education is an important aspect of the education framework and is one area where we have funding challenges. We need advocates that support this area and look at ways to enhance the funding formula.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

We need to look at the cost involved in all aspects of administration and look to reduce redundancy and consolidate any overlapping functions. I have seen that budgets have been reduced in the last year and we need to tap into our team to see where there are opportunities to get additional saving. We need to move to more electronic communication and reduce postal and printing costs. We need to increase the communication we have to our community, however we need to use electronic means that allow access for the whole community.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

We need to ensure that we are fair to all teacher and staff in terms of providing them with a reasonable remuneration for the work that they do and ensure that the kids get the best education possible by supporting and encouraging the best people come into the profession.

We need to be also mindful that the cost of the teachers and staff is currently underfunded by the current funding formulas based on our current enrolment.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

Communication of key elements is one of the key rights that need to be considered. We need to ensure that parents and student keep the school advised on things that may be relevant and the school need to keep both parents and student advised on updates and information.

I would be supportive of this initiative and feel that it will provide additional support for an inclusive and involved environment for parents, students and members of the school board.

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Yes

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

Reduce Senior Management and middle management positions. Reduce overtime which occurs with permit supervision .No retirees to supply in any short term positions.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

Advertise my availability to attend School Council meetings and attend local school events whenever possible. Arrange ward council meetings. Negotiate with Pastors to use the Church Hall after masses for a meet and greet.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

No New taxes. Reduce tax burdens. Spend within allocated funds . Look for efficiencies in all departments. Balance the budget.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

Yes I support an ombudsman. There are many system-wide issues that are never brought to the board table . Issues are solved on case by case basis. The system wide issues that are identified by the ombudsman will be the basis for new policy or policy revisions.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

Yes culture has changed . It seems that Trustees are exercising greater care with taxpayer dollars With greater transparency it seems sober second thought happens before spending or at least careful consideration so to be in line with policies.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

Special Education funding is not sufficient. There are aspects of Special Education services that should be under a different Ministry –ie Ministry of Health or Minister in charge of Youth Services.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

Decrease cost of administration . Stop hiring retirees. Do a better job of succession planning for all levels of staff. Petition the government to allow TCDSB TO HIRE A NON-TEACHER CEO .

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

Since I have family members employed by the board I will refrain from answering this question.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

Parent/Student bill of rights . Parents are the first and primary educators. They simply choose a school and then ask that their child be educated at that school . Parents have the right to have all information pertaining to their child. No One should have any information unless the parents have it first .

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

In an ideal world school boards would be able to find the funds within their own budget to fund sports, but that’s just not realistic. Student academic achievement is currently the biggest priority. School boards have frequently accepted outside help and donations to fund a variety of programs. The CFL / Nissan program is a more structured and public arrangement.

The idea of outside funding has some inherent problems. Notably the sponsorship and coaching duties performed by Mayor Rob Ford for the Don Bosco football team lead to pupils and staff getting caught up in a media circus. This is not fair to students or staff.

Partnerships with outside agencies and businesses need to be carefully constructed and expectations managed. The policies in place are currently inadequate and changes need to me made.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

I am campaigning on a platform to increase revenue for school improvements and new buildings. This includes directing the board to become serious about energy retrofits to save costs and partnering with a third party to form a not-for-profit cooperative to generate solar energy revenues from school facilities. The TDSB is working on a similar plan and money is expected to start flowing soon. Recent advances in solar panel technology make installations lighter, more efficient and more profitable.

I also believe that members of the Catholic community should set up a private investment fund that would allow Catholic school supporters to donate money into an investment fund. This privately held fund would over time provide money for school repairs and development. Over its 180 year history Catholic education has always relied on contributions from the community to survive and prosper. An investment fund would continue that proud tradition.

I oppose partnerships with developers to build new schools with an integrated condo development. Several boards have already entered into these arrangements and they haven’t been 100 per cent successful. Profit and education don’t mix and even the best intentioned partnerships with developers are too risky.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

I am a tireless advocate for Catholic education, student achievement and parental involvement. Before deciding to run for trustee I was an executive member of the Toronto Catholic Parent Involvement Committee – a statutory committee of the TCDSB that consults with the board on issues of parental involvement and student achievement. I am also the past chair for both CSAC (parent council) and the safe schools committee at my children’s school.

As a candidate I bring many years of community involvement to the table and I have always fostered the belief that building consensus is the most efficient way to get things done.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

I am completely opposed to any new taxes being levied on individual taxpayers. Working families can’t afford it.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

I have watched the debate about an ombudsperson unfold for several years. There are significant legal hurdles to creating the position within the TCDSB. I feel that a position created by the board of trustees to examine board activities will most likely be toothless and a waste of money. The money should be spent in education.

A better solution would be to expand the purview of the Ontario Ombudsperson to cover school boards and education. Currently the Office of the Ontario Ombudsperson has limited jurisdiction over school boards. By broadening the purview of the Ontario Ombudsperson it would mean that all school boards in the province would be open to examination and investigation.

This will in turn allow investigations to happen in a fair and unbiased manner. It will also allow the Ontario Ombudsperson to create broader context to identify cause in an investigation and also make school boards and the Ministry of Education more accountable.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

The spending and expense issues are unforgivable. Many incumbent trustees have tried to justify expense claims that are quite simply unjustifiable. As someone that followed the 2008 TCDSB expense scandal closely I was appalled at the excuses for unethical behaviour. In many cases trustees argued that the guidelines were confusing and lax.

In my opinion you can’t blame a lack of rules or lack of clarity to engage in behaviour that you know to be unethical. Trustees need only look at the spending policy of their employer or school board employees for common sense guidelines on what constitutes a legitimate expense.

For example you generally wouldn’t expense your employer for a trip to the salon. Nor would you expense your employer to pay for a third party to read a book on your behalf and prepare a set of notes. Your employer expects you to read the book and pay for your own haircut.

Unfortunately the current Ward 11 incumbent had no problem passing the cost of a trip to the salon and the cost of having a book read on her behalf onto taxpayers. Meanwhile, at the school level it is not unusual for students to share text books because the budget has been trimmed to a bare minimum.

The current board of trustees has been extremely careful with expenses during the last term but that doesn’t mean that the fundamental lack of ethics has been fixed. Several of the trustees involved in the expense scandal remain, including the Ward 11 incumbent. It’s time for them to be shown the door.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

Failures in special education are a province wide issue. Many parents and groups that represent special needs children have been campaigning for a broader conversation at the provincial level. School boards generally work hard but fail to provide for special needs children due to lack of funding.

I don’t believe that any individual school board will come close to scoring 100 per cent on special needs issues under the current funding formula. I believe that the province needs to set up a special commission to examine the issue further. Individual school boards cannot solve the problem working alone.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

I volunteered and served on the Toronto Catholic Parent Involvement Committee – a statutory committee of the board. During my time on this committee I became knowledgeable about the inner workings of the board.

In general terms I am not in favour of cutting administrative or support staff to reduce costs. As a parent I feel that the TCDSB has endured enough cuts during two and half years of provincial supervision. Millions of dollars’ worth of cuts were made and the board emerged as a much leaner and efficient entity. Recent over spending on capital projects must be watched carefully to be kept on budget.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

With the addition of full day JK/SK staffing budgets are stretched further than ever before and all parties need to keep this in mind during negotiations.

Trustees should have limited involvement in the negotiations. It has been my experience that trustees don’t have the labour relations expertise to play a full and active role in negotiations. Trustees often have a biased political agenda and I believe that can stand in the way to fair and decent negotiations.

Before the negotiations begin the board of trustees and board staff should develop a framework document that outlines what their expectations and hopes for the negotiation. Ultimately trustees can choose to reject the outcome of negotiations or build consensus on things that need to be changed.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

I believe that a parent/student bill of rights is a step in the right direction but it must provide a tangible and actionable set of rights. It’s a waste of time to create a mission statement style bill that provides generic rights.

I believe that a parent/student bill of rights should provide tangible learning objectives such as a right to:

The full responses

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

I support seeking canadian organizations only to support the school boards. I would accept a partnership with the Canadian Football league, but not with Nissan.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

We need to be pragmatic.Leasing some of our surplus properties is one idea. Also, we spend 18 millions more than we should in special education programs and staff. We need to either look at the staffing ratio for some students, or to try to outsource special education and to provide vouchers to parents.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

I will go to CSAC meetings and send out surveys. I will also support CPIC which is an organization dedicated to involve parents.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

No, absolutely not. I would like to work with the ministry to change the rules regarding the fundraising initiatives for our schools.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

I do not know enough about the role of an ombudsman. I is probably a good thing if he/she can save taxpayers money.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

I believe that the trustees do not spend as much as they used to. I would have voted against a trip to Florida (to attend a catholic education conference.) I support the objection that the director of education made before the motion was carried last spring.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

I wrote about it in question 2:We need to either look at the staffing ratio for some students, or to try to outsource special education and to provide vouchers to parents.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

We need to look at the waste of paper. We also need to look at the RFP sent out for services provided to the board. We should look at the whole process of “Board approved suppliers.” I do not know what the discrepancy between the government funding and the real cost of administration is, but I am willing to look into it.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

I believe that the goal of the unions is to hire more staff with pay increase higher than the inflation rate. This approach needs to change, the concept of permanent positions for teachers need to change as well.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

The full responses

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Catholic education is built on partnerships. These include thosewith provincial and local levels of government, with the local community, religious orders, local agencies, NGOs, charities and private corporations. For an example of the latter, just this year, the TD bank donated 500 desktops for students and 100 laptops for teachers to the TCDSB. I support partnerships that promotes the vision and mission of the TCDSB and provides our students with the tools they need, and helps us to close the learning opportunity gaps in our schools.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

It’s clear that partnerships are critical and partnership development must be a key priority for the Board – both at the local school level and system-wide. For areas such as special education and transportation where our budgets far exceed the funds we receive, solutions need to be found with our education partners. I also support the continued existence of a Budget sub-committee as it provides a means for ongoing detailed analysis and discussion – against our multi-year strategic plan – in preparation for our most important annual board meeting.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

As a trustee over the last four years I have been invited to, and have attended, ratepayer and residence association meeting in my ward, providing updates and answering questions related to the local school communities. I’ve organized community meetings with the city councillors and MPPs from across my ward to discuss ways in which to support local Catholic schools.I’ve organized an annual ‘leadership workshop’ inviting principals, CSAC Chairs and pastors from across my ward to discuss successes and challenges across our community of schools and ways in which we can support each school meet the needs of their students. I’ve attended regular ‘St Paul Summits’ with all the locally-elected representatives for the riding of St Paul’s. I’ve attended community group meetings which are looking at local initiatives which impact our students – most recently I attended a meeting in support of Eglinton Connects. I have provided a quarterly community newsletter since my election in 2010 which is published on my website (www.jo-anndavis.ca),and provided to schools and parishes. I will continue to do all these things, as well as seek further methods to provide accessible and responsive representation to my constituents.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

As I don’t know the details of the proposal sited, I’m not able to comment. Earmarking a percentage of existing taxes for education is something I could support – providing greater transparency regarding the programs and services our collective taxes are being directed towards in support of the common good.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

As a champion of this initiative I am fully supportiveof the TCDSB becoming the first school board in Ontario with an independent Ombudsman role. It supports both the continuous improvement of the TCDSB, and our multi-year strategic plan goals of increased public confidence and transparency

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

The scandals and culture pre-date my first term as trustee with the TCDSB. The TCDSB has published all trustee expenses on-line since before my election in 2010, and just this year TCDSB trustees voted to reduce trustee expense budgets. Speaking personally, I have not submitted an expense claim for any out of-pocket expenses in my role as trustee.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

At the TCDSB we seek to provide all of our students with the tools they need to reach their potential and live life fully. As a Catholic school board we have a special responsibility to those students who are most at risk, and this includes those who require additional support in the classroom. If you look at our budget you will see the value which we place on Special Education – it accounts for about 12% of our total budget ($147M) with an estimated $20M spent more annually than we receive in funding from the Ministry of Education. Our mission makes clear that we believe that teaching must be responsive to individual student needs. What does this mean in the classroom? As an example, in 1999 the TCDSB created a distinct service for students with Autism. The service was created to provide multi-disciplinary supports to meet the complex needs of students with Autism and this continues to be a focus of service provision. As part of the Board’s Learning Improvement Plan and as a major initiative within Special Services, accountability frameworks and an advisory committee have been developed to guide programs provided for students with Autism as well as other exceptionalities. We are always seeking ways to better support our students, and the need to find partnership solutions given the clear budgetary constraints, has been a focus of discussions with the Ministry over the last year.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

Given funding reductions in this area – in particular for the TCDSB – our Director is, I believe, already doing what can and should be done to reduce the cost of administration at the TCDSB without impacting its effective leadership and thereby impacting the success of our students.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

As this question relates to collective bargaining, any views regarding labour negotiations are confidential out of respect for all parties involved.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

The broad motion reinforces policies in place at the TCDSB and certainly I am supportive of its objectives. In my opinion, accessibility and equality of opportunity are the most important right for students (in terms of reaching their full potential) and parents (in terms of providing the means to support their children’s education) for which we should always be striving. As the community advisory committee to look at this proposal has yet to be established I can’t comment on whether I will support its recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

The full responses

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Private investment — no. Donations — yes.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

Budgets are always complicated since everyone wants a bigger piece of the pie every year. There is a need to rationalize program needs by department and identity potential savings.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

Initiate more community/taxpayer programs through online, social media and in-person consultations and interaction that would encourage input of fresh ideas.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

Need to know and understand details of this proposed new tax to see how the taxpayers are going to benefit from it. Also need to know if property taxes will be decreased as a consequence of having this new tax.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

Yes and yes.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

Yes, I believe this has changed especially with the new policy of posting Trustee expenses on the school board’s website. In fact, I think it has swung to the other side of the pendulum since some trustees do not charge even eligible expenses.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

Special education is always a big challenge with respect to budget pressures in our attempt to address all the special needs of our students. We need to take a closer look at the various tiers of needs and required services/resources against each student’s needs and prioritize accordingly. Parents of special-need kids need to be made aware and be informed properly regarding policies and eligibility requirements.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

The board is already addressing this but additional ideas from various stakeholders to reduce, reuse, and recycle resources are most welcome.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

The best approach is to have TCDSB exercise autonomous contract negotiations with teachers and staff.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

I think it is important that parents are the final authorities in all decisions regarding their children, so yes I will support a parents’ bill of rights, not just in education, but in health, well-being, and spiritual aspects as well.

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

I think that an investment in physical activity in our schools is an investment in the overall health and well-being of our future generations. That being said, I am supportive of private investment being made at the TCDSB provided that appropriate policies are in place to ensure that the organizations are solely advertising or promoting their brand and/or products and are otherwise prohibited from influencing the Board, faculty, students or any other stakeholder of the TCDSB.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

Just as with the private sector, operational reviews are the best way to determine current efficiencies and seek out opportunities to eliminate waste. It is important to maintain the appropriate staffing levels amongst the schools and ensure that the enrollments at schools are close to capacity to make certain that they are operating cost-effectively. Regardless of the size of an organization, there are always areas for improvement, being the largest (publicly funded) Catholic School Board in the world; the TCDSB would be no different. Investments in both infrastructure and technology are however inevitable, so running a balanced budget and maintaining provisions for future projects are essential.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

My goal is to be a strong, proficient, and compassionate voice for my community and the city at large. I believe in accessibility and I will make myself available to listen to and to understand the concerns of everyone that I am to represent. I also believe in accountability and transparency, thus I will keep Catholic Ratepayers aware of all issues that may potentially affect the protection or preservation of the board.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

I am not supportive of a new dedicated tax for education. I do not think that new taxes are well perceived, nor do I believe that they would be more effective in dealing with board expenditures. I believe that efficiency, waste reduction and well planned and executed investments are instrumental to the boards’ financial viability.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

Back in 2012 the motion to create an ombudsman did not pass, however I am optimistic that the creation of this role will be evaluated once again. If so, I will support this initiative. It would make the TCDSB more accountable and be a leader in governance, transparency and fairness for the entire community for which it serves.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

Once again making reference to the private sector, such activities would not and could not be tolerated. Only business related expenditures can be claimed and deemed legitimate. The legitimacy of these claims can only be validated with all the necessary supporting documentation. There needs to be a zero tolerance policy in this regard. For claims to be accepted, the original corresponding receipts that unequivocally denote the business need for the expense must be submitted.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

The TCDSB has a Special Education Plan that is comprehensive, which provides a framework for identification and review, accountability and continuous improvement. One of my primary concerns is the safety and inclusion of all students, regardless of their uniqueness. Although there is much exceptionality, I believe that the promotion of mental health awareness and tolerance is essential. Stigma regarding mental health and addiction challenges is often a huge barrier for students and their families in reaching out for help, accessing services, and having accommodations and individual education plans implemented to support students in their studies and development in general.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

As discussed earlier, operational efficiency needs to be monitored closely and all opportunities for the elimination of waste need to be investigated and actioned in a timely manner. For the time being I will refrain from any personal perspectives or proposals, as I am not familiar enough with the budget and/or allocation of resources to form an opinion.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

I am a firm believer of value for your dollar, affordability and living within your means. That being said, in order to not only maintain, but improve the quality of our schools and our school system, we cannot expect our taxes to stay stagnant, nor should we expect that of our salaries. I believe that any contract negotiations with respect to salary increases should not exceed the rate of inflation.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

Safety, inclusion and fairness are of upmost importance. A bill of rights will provide accessibility to parents and caregivers, ensuring transparency within the board. As a result, public confidence in governance and the board as a whole will increase. This is an initiative that I am supportive of.

The Incumbent:

John Del Grande

The Race

John Del Grande is not running again, so former Trustee Del Grande’s father, Mike, is coming back after a term of excellent work delivering budgets to bring about a new era of fiscal accountability at City Hall. One other Challenger, Emmanuel Yanga, also participated in our survey.

The full responses

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Yes I do provided that the support is philanthropic and not a commercialization of our schools.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

The opportunities for synergy with the other boards and the City can provide an opportunity to improve and increase capital investment. One such opportunity is the section 37 funds that the city collects for high density which the Catholic board does not get a fair share

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

I have always maintained that I should attend as many parent school meetings as possible. Secondly it’s important to have a clear concise newsletter for current issues as opposed to cheerleading for the school board. Thirdly I need to work with the other elected officials to participate in Townhall meetings so that it is a one stop shop for residents to have their questions answered by all their elected officials.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

I will never support extra or special or additional levies on taxpayers.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

Yes I support a fixed term limit for a school ombudsman. I think it’s time that we have it as it works well at the city of Toronto and it is a unbiased position that will garner respect from people that cannot get through the red tape of both bureaucrats and politicians.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

A sense of entitlement remains with all elected officials. By posting all the expenses online will make it more accountable and visible to the public as to what school trustees are doing with their expense allotments.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

For a start monies that are budgeted for special ed should be spent on special ed and not transferred to other programs. Secondly assessments are taking far too long to help identify programs and needs of special ed students. Thirdly the board should examine programs like Aerosmith which has in the past demonstrated a significant help to students. The problem is that educators are inclined to go with the status quo approach to special ed programs.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

First we don’t need special assistance for trustees, and in my day the trustee had secretarial help but not someone that basically is doing the work of trustees. I also find that we tend to warehouse teachers that are taken out of the classroom because they can’t function as teachers and therefore we find other jobs for them in an administrative role. We cannot be a social agency we need to separate from those employees that can’t do the job.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

This is not in our control as the public purse is controlled by the province. The teachers unions are too strong for individual boards and therefore it is up to the province to do the collective-bargaining. After all it is the province that pays the cost of education and it is up to them to determine what the value of a teaching position is.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

The most important right is that parents are the first educators of their children. The school system should not usurp this role. The state is there to assist not to take over. I would support a bill of rights for parents and students

1. Recently the Canadian Football League and Nissan stepped in to help school boards with the costs of organized sports. Do you support seeking private investment at the TCDSB?

Yes, I will support good private investments at TCDSB to help achieve the visions that will benefit students and set conditions that will provide high quality achievements in education for every student and help meet high standards to help students succeed in school and in life in general. I will consider other worthy initiatives and pick the ones that produces best results for the good of the school Board and students.

2. What ideas do you have to address the budget challenges that the TCDSB faces?

I will conduct proper consultations with authorities and check effective implementation of every program possible. Allocate current resources based on the needs / priorities. Develop solid partnerships with investors and increase contributors vitality by having a responsible and effective vision / direction. Ensure continuous effective stewardship of resources at all times.

3. How will you foster and engage school communities and ratepayers at large?

Conduct continuous dialogues with constituents and community leaders. Develop strategic plans to ensure effectivity of programs. Dissiminate relevant information and decide which is best to adhere to. Constantly reach out to constituents and decide whic will be the most effective solution to benefit the good of parents and students.

4. There are candidates who have proposed advocating for a new tax dedicated specifically to education. Is this a proposal you support?

As much as possiblle I won’t vote for a new tax but if necessary but will make a careful scrutiny on it’s pro’s and con’s, do my due diligence to justify a new tax when presented and always put the best interest of my constituents and students in Catholic schools.

5. TCDSB has debated and budgeted for an ombudsman. Do you – and will you support this important initiative?

Yes, I will support for an Ombudsman. This is surely an important and worthy initiative that will help in the governance of the duties of a Catholic Trustee, This will further the call for the proper expected performance of a Trustee and ensure the well-being of the board and the performance of the title given and be ever mindful of the duties and responsibilities and to be always in a proper perspective.

6. Do you believe the culture among TCDSB Trustees has changed after a spending scandal that saw Trustees expense gold jewellry, trips, university tuition, personalized licence plates and lingerie, among other things? If not how will you change this culture?

I’m not familiar yet with the current culture of some of the school Board Trustees but will definitely check and see what needs to be considered and introduced necessary change in the current system. It’s so frustrating to know that this is even happening in our school Board. This is very disgusting to say the least. I will be all over if proven that wrong practices is happening in our school Board. They should be totally disbard from the Board for conduct unbecoming of a Catholic School Trustee.

7. Failures in special education are considered by some to be the greatest failure in the public system. What is your plan for correcting this?

I will help ensure proper and effective immediate solution to issues and help find better steps and make necessary changes and adoption of rules and regulations.

8. What are your ideas on how we can reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB?

To reduce the cost of administration and governance at TCDSB, I will promote the strict observance of rules in the proper allocation of resources and accountiing by regular audits and review of disbursements and reporting system and procedures.

9. What do you think is the best approach for the TCDSB to take in upcoming contract negotiations with teachers and staff?

Promote the practice of due diligence in the scrutiny of applicants, their work reference, educational attainments and include strict adherance to Catholic teachings, culture and traditions of all applicants, staff and teachers and place in top priority faith background, practices, good manners, right conduct and group affiliations.

10. TCDSB is in the process of developing a parent/student bill of rights. What do you view as one of the most important rights in education for parents and students? Will you support this initiative?​

I will support wothry initiatives that will promote the good and welfare of parents and students and will help in the development of a parent / student bill of rights. I will take a firm stand on the practice of Catholic faith teachings, culture and tradtions and help support in the maintenance and practices of the same.